The new tournament runs from March 16 to 20 at The Helix in Dublin and will be known as the PartyCasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Finals.

It's the culmination of a series of events, with 12 short tournaments staged around Europe earlier in the season. An Order of Merit ranked players according to how much money they won, with the top 24 going through to Ireland. Over 200 players, including professional and amateurs from around the world, competed in the series.

Shaun Murphy topped the list and will be joined in Dublin by fellow former World Champion Mark Williams as well as top stars including Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire and Marco Fu.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "It's a great pleasure to bring PartyCasino.com on board for this exciting new event. PartyCasino.com also sponsor Premier League Snooker so they have a close association with the sport and they are clearly delighted with the exposure they receive through snooker.

"It's fantastic to be going to Ireland for a world ranking event for the first time in six years. The fans there have been starved of top draw snooker for too long and I hope they will be out in force to see the stars in action.

"I know all of the players competing can't wait to get over there, show what they can do and experience the atmosphere. The PTC series has given them the chance to play in events every week so they are all match sharp. Alongside PartyCasino.com we're looking forward to an outstanding five days of snooker."

The event will be broadcast on Eurosport, Beijing TV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong TV and Now TV in Hong Kong.